More than a game, it's a balm!

This is one of my first 3D PC experiences which will always bring back good memories and consistent fun replay value. It made me actually leap into the world of 3d, and, finishing the game, wanting more... Too bad a sequel couldn't be made. Still, the Zanzarah universe is launched and ready for future stories, new adventures... if only the right people, good gifted and talented would undergo such a project. The game is easy to play and is relaxing fun. Relaxing fun... a concept that many "modern" games unfortunately forgot. They bring on such a complicated interface, such convoluted controls, gameplay, so many details that, instead of relaxing, they hurt people's mind. A game should be fun and relaxing first, challenging second, always second. The relaxing fun should be the frontispiece in any game that is made, especially RPG-s that suppose a story, human interactions etc. Zanzarah is a classical hidden gem in the world of games. It makes you comfortable through each of its aspects: the story is original and simple to grasp, the music is a real soul therapy, the sounds of nature make you feel like you are indeed in a magical world of a childhood fairytale... Beside the feeling of returning to the childhood world of wonders and innocence, of holidays without worries roaming through the grandparents' s orchards... there is a certain healing aspect in the beginning areas of the game, in the forests... and in the white clouds... I can't really explain this, all I know is that you feel very comfortable exploring Zanzarah' s forests, mountains, even caves... There is no gory part and that is so good, because too many games are so violent and bloody it became a cliche. Not everybody wants brutal fights. Zanzarah offers instead a, should we say, "Jedi" alternative: you don't destroy your opponent, instead you can tame them and put their abilities to good use, against disorder and disharmony. It is a good cause you are fighting for and done in a special both elegant and honorable manner... The difficulty is easy enough, once you figure how to switch between fairies that use different energies. It is logical and intuitive, for example, water is very efficient vs fire but not that good vs ice, and so on... The graphics are gorgeous for the year of the apparition (2002), the characters are beautifully designed. The PC system requirements are incredibly low! The game works on very old PC-s. I remember playing it on medium settings on a Celeron single core processor, with only 128 MB RAM and an integrated 32 Mb video card... and enjoyed a good enough average framerate... In conclusion, this game is: Relaxing, Fun, Immersive.

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